


One True Love

by Fernon



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, Magic, Magic Gone Wrong, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Potions, Tiny bit of Angst, Unrequited Love, just a lot of cute stuff, little bit of crack, seungcheol has a nephew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 05:04:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernon/pseuds/Fernon
Summary: The delivery bike for the magic shop breaks down, and Jihoon meets the cutest mechanic he's ever seen. The mechanic, however, seems more into Jeonghan. Can magic solve Jihoon's problems?





	One True Love

This is  _ just _ Jihoon’s luck. He could be in the magic shop at this very moment, mixing up potions, and preparing spells, and polishing trinkets, but instead, Seokmin had to go and get the flu. So now, Jihoon is stuck on delivery duties. Which he hates. And of course, today, of all days, the stupid old motorbike had to quit on them, and the sidecar weighs about a million tons (even without all the potions in it), so pushing it to the mechanics down the street from the magic shop is  _ hell. _

Jihoon groans as he tries the engine once more, and it turns and then putters out. Seokmin had just put gas in it yesterday after deliveries, he had handed Jeonghan the receipt of the purchase and Jeonghan had entered it in the books, under the company’s card, which Seokmin had used for the purchase. “Jeonghan, the bike is broken!” Jihoon calls, his voice a whine, as he stumbles through the door of the shop with a pout. 

“Okay, you know where the mechanic’s is,” Jeonghan says, dusting a few shelves in the quieter section of the shop.

“But I can’t get the damn thing to move. You know the sidecar is a giant deadweight.” Jihoon leans over the counter and pouts. 

“Fine, I’ll call Mingyu. He’s got more muscle than either of us, it shouldn’t be too hard. Then you’ll just have to do the deliveries by foot. Everything is within walking distance.” Jeonghan says, pulling out his phone. Mingyu is the gardener who grows all their potions ingredients, who’s a rather avid attendee at the gym. 

“Well you’re the bike owner, you’re the one who needs to show the registration and such. Can’t I just stay here and watch the shop?” Jihoon whines. Jeonghan rolls his eyes. 

“Fine, I’ll go with you, Jihoon. But  _ only  _ to the mechanic’s. And  _ only _ because it’s early, we don’t get customers for another half an hour. Mingyu should be here in five minutes. Sure enough, the tall man with the puppy-eyes and bright smile is there in precisely five minutes, apparently he was close, since he was on his morning jog. The three of them go out to the motorbike and begin pushing it out of the little alley where it’s parked, and down the street, through the bike lane, and crossing over to the shop. 

“They aren’t open!?” Jihoon groans. 

“I can watch the shop for a few minutes. Looks like they open at the same time as the magic shop,” Mingyu offers. Jeonghan sighs, but nods and hands him the keys to the shop. 

“I suppose, it shouldn’t be too busy.”

Jihoon sits outside the shop with Jeonghan for almost a half an hour before someone shows up, keys dangling from his hands, and he looks up in surprise. 

“Customers already? That can’t be good.” The man laughs, and his handsome face crinkles, as a gummy smile breaks out on his lips, and his eyes shrink up into little crescent moons, and his cheeks look like dumplings that Jihoon wants to squish. Jihoon’s heart skips a beat at the sound of his laugh, something that sounds almost fake, like someone going ‘hah hah hah hah’, or a cartoon character- and Jihoon finds that absolutely endearing, not to mention how contagious it is. 

Jihoon finds himself chuckling sheepishly, and Jeonghan is smirking a little. “Yeah, suppose that is pretty bad, huh?”

“Well, lets wheel it inside, shall we? Let me just open the garage doors.” The attractive man is familiar, Jihoon thinks, but to be fair, they get their fair share of customers in the shop, but he’s more of a regular, Jihoon thinks. 

“You guys are from the magic shop down the street, right?” Seungcheol asks as the big overhead doors of the garage lift up, as he tugs the chain to get it up. Jihoon tries not to stare at the flexing muscles of his arms, showing very obviously with the sleeveless mechanic’s uniform. 

“Yes,  _ The Broom _ . Owned by yours truly. The name is Jeonghan, Yoon Jeonghan,” Jeonghan cuts in, Jihoon seemingly unable to form words. He smiles that dazzling, sexy smile of his, and Jihoon feels his heart sink. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Choi Seungcheol. I own this shop,  _ Choi Motor Repairs _ . Let me help you get that in the shop,” Seungcheol says, hurrying over to get behind the bike and push, and Jeonghan sort of boots Jihoon out of the way, to help Seungcheol push it, but Seungcheol seems to have it all under control, and Jihoon finds himself staring at Seungcheol’s ass in those ridiculous coveralls, tight and firm while he uses his muscle to push the bike the short distance into a corner of the shop. 

“That’s a working class ass,” Jeonghan mumbles to Jihoon, licking his lips as he, too, stares. Jihoon cringes.

“Really, Han?” Jihoon gives him a disapproving look, and follows after Seungcheol, and Jihoon trails behind. 

“I’m actually a regular at the magic shop, I get stain remover potions for my uniforms. Grease and oil don’t come out so easy in the wash, and I like to look presentable enough for my customers.”

Jihoon’s heart flutters a little at his tiny grammar slip up, loving how much character it gives Seungcheol. “Yes, I thought you looked familiar,” Jihoon finds himself mumbling. 

“And what’s your name? I don’t think I caught that.” Seungcheol sends a warm smile to Jihoon. 

“I’m Jihoon, I believe I’ve sold you a few potions in the past,” Jihoon nods. 

“Ah, yes. You’re an excellent potion maker, your mixes last longer than the ones your other workers have made me. Nothing against them, I love the stain repellents, but there’s something about yours. It’s a pleasure to finally know your name, now maybe I’ll know who to request to mix my potions,” Seungcheol smiles and Jihoon can feel his cheeks heating. 

“So about the bike, Mr. Choi,” Jeonghan jumps in, clearly not liking that he’s not the one getting the flattery. Jihoon huffs a tiny sigh and pouts, and tunes their conversation out, looking around the shop, at the little photos on the wall- one with two young boys, and an older man, who looks like an aged version of Seungcheol- slightly different features, but close enough to know that Seungcheol is related to them. A few more, newer photos, with the same old man, in the same sleeveless coveralls as Seungcheol, and a younger looking Seungcheol, as well as a guy about the same age as Seungcheol, and a woman, who must be Seungcheol’s mom, and Seungcheol notices ‘Choi’ embroidered on all their matching coveralls. Another photo shows a larger group of people, the woman from before, and Seungcheol and the other guy, and a few more people who look young as well, but with different last names embroidered on their coveralls. ‘Chwe,’ ‘Lee,’ and ‘Hong,’ as well as another woman, with ‘Ahn’ embroidered on her coveralls.

Jihoon looks at the old signs hanging on the walls,  _ Choi Motor Repairs _ on all of them, and all of them varying degrees in age. A few more framed photos hang on the wall, of fancy old cars all finished, from old buckets of rust without tires. Jihoon pauses on one, in black and white, with the old man from before standing beside an old truck, that must have been a bright blue, and a huge grin on his face. 

“That’s my grandfather, he’s the first one of my family to run this place. Started it up all on his own. Taught us all everything he knows about all this. Now he mostly does the books, but he’s happy to see us growing and successful.” Seungcheol says softly. Jihoon jumps a little. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just curious,” Jihoon chuckles sheepishly. 

“It’s alright. It’s a nice photo. Reminds me of why I do this.” Seungcheol smiles. 

“It is, you look a lot like him,” Jihoon says softly. And then he panics. “I mean- I don’t mean like that, you don’t look old or anything, you look fantastic, I just mean you have a lot of similar features, and-”

Seungcheol laughs his laugh again, the one that makes Jihoon’s heart flutter. “I knew what you meant. It’s the eyes, him, and my mother, and my brother, and I, we all have the same eyes. So did my great grandmother and her sister, and I’m sure one of her parents before her. It’s just… a thing,” Seungcheol smiles, and Jihoon feels like he could melt through the floorboards. 

“Jihoon, don’t you have deliveries to make?” Jeonghan calls from where he’s filling out some billing information in the small waiting room. Jihoon’s eyes widen.

“Right! It’s been nice meeting you, Seungcheol, bye!” He hurries to the side car, scooping out the little parcels and dumping them into the messenger bag at his hip and running out, clipboard in hand. 

Jihoon hates deliveries. 

Jihoon turns up the next day, to find a smaller collection of deliveries- not even half what there was yesterday, and groans when Jeonghan gives him a look as if to say ‘you know what to do’ and Jihoon trudges out of the shop, potion bottles and parcels in his bag, and clipboard in his hands. Luckily it’s not hot for a summer day, and there’s a gentle breeze strolling down the street with Jihoon, and it’s early enough that the town is still quiet. He plugs in his headphones and lets the music carry him along as he goes, stopping about halfway through the bag to sit and just enjoy the sun.

He continues walking, greeting Mrs. Kim as he passes, another frequent of their shop, who buys garden protectants- mostly bug repellents, which are harmless to the bugs, they just bump into the shield the spell creates and move along. It of course, allows the bees and butterflies and such through, but anything that could be harmful to the plant gets turned away. 

He stops next to the little alley behind the grocery store to pet the stray cats, who absolutely love him, and Jihoon would love to take them home if he could, but there’s four cats, and they’re all siblings, and Jihoon has two cats of his own who wouldn’t be happy if he brought home a new friend. Jihoon has tried talking Jeonghan into taking at least two of them to lounge around the shop, like familiars, just for effect, but Jeonghan denies being a cat person (or an animal person at all, for that matter, but Jihoon doesn’t miss when he watches cat videos on a slow day, or asks after his cats, or the way that he tries to chase after them when he comes over, demanding their affection). 

“I’ll find you guys a place before winter, okay?” He scratches one of the scrawny things under its chin, and it purrs loudly. He’s tried his neighbors, Minghao and Jun, they’ve been looking for a pet, he knows, and he thinks a pair of kittens would be a fantastic choice.

The four kittens meow after him, when he starts down the road, and he just promises to bring them some snacks on his way home tonight. They sneak back into the alley, and curl up together.

Jihoon finishes the deliveries in no time, and decides to stop by the shop to check on the bike- to find Jeonghan there, asking Seungcheol the same thing. 

“...needs a new fuel line, and I’m trying to figure out the problem with the engine. I just ordered the new fuel line and it should hopefully be in by the end of the week.” Jihoon catches the end of Seungcheol’s speech. Jeonghan nods.

“Sounds good, thanks again for the last minute squeeze in, cutie. This bike is pretty important to our business.” Jihoon doesn’t miss the way that Jeonghan winks, and Seungcheol’s face flushes. Jihoon sighs. Of course Seungcheol likes Jeonghan. Why wouldn’t he?

Jeonghan is tall (though not extremely so, not like Mingyu, but at least he’s not as short as Jihoon is) and he’s got gorgeous, thin, long legs, and he’s got beautifully maintained silky hair, and pretty eyes with long lashes, and a jawline to kill for. Jeonghan’s lips were even pretty, a nice rosy color all the time, and Jihoon is green with envy. 

Because what does Jihoon have that Jeonghan doesn’t? Nothing, that’s what. 

“I see you’ve got the same idea, huh Hannie?” Jihoon calls, making the two of them turn towards him. “I just finished my deliveries and I thought I’d swing by and see what’s up with the bike!” Jihoon pushes a smile onto his lips and makes his tone brighter. He supposes there’s no use moping, it’s not the first time Jeonghan has swept one of Jihoon’s love interests off their feet. Not that Jeonghan usually actively tried to, either. But when you’re friends with Jeonghan, and Jeonghan is as good looking as he is, Jihoon isn’t surprised that Jeonghan turns a head. 

“Yeah, Cheollie here was just explaining what’s going on.” Jeonghan smiles. “Jisoo is in the shop right now, and Mingyu should be delivering some fresh pansies today. You can head back, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, see you, Jeonghan!” Jihoon smiles politely at Seungcheol, who waves. 

“Nice seeing you again, Jihoon.” Seungcheol smiles that pretty smile of his and Jihoon’s heart aches. 

“Nice to see you too, Seungcheol. Have a nice day,” Jihoon chirps, and then turns on his heel and hurries down the street.

Jihoon is having a quiet day back in the shop, the first he’s had since Seokmin got sick (which Seokmin is still sick, but it’s Jeonghan’s day off so Jihoon made Jisoo run the deliveries out today). Jihoon is leafing through a spellbook behind the counter and doesn’t bat an eyelash when the door’s overhead bell chimes, assuming it’s Jisoo. He, in fact, is so focused on the spell he’s creating, that he jumps a mile when someone clears their throat, standing at the desk before him. Jihoon snaps to attention, greeting them hastily, in a panic of ‘that was bad customer service’.

“Uh, hey, Jihoon,” that same voice greets his ears, the one belonging to Seungcheol, that same voice that is deep and soothing and gentle, and beautiful music to Jihoon’s ears. 

“Oh! Seungcheol! What brings you here?” Jihoon stops panicking a bit, and smiles instead. 

“I was wondering about picking up a stain remover potion? I also came to update you on the bike, I figured out what’s wrong with the engine, it’ll be another 3-4 days before it’s repaired as well. Engines are sort of complicated, especially since the one in the bike is an older model.” Seungcheol smiles. 

“Oh, you should probably let Jeonghan know that… unfortunately, he’s not working today. He’ll be in tomorrow afternoon, though!” Jihoon chirps. “I’ll get right on that stain remover potion for you, it’ll be a few hours, since it has to cure and such.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I have Saturdays off. I’ll hang around for a bit.” Seungcheol smiles, and Jihoon blinks. 

“I- I did say a few  _ hours _ , didn’t I?”

“Yep! I don’t mind. I like this shop, its cool, and comfortable. So tell me a bit about magic, yeah?” Seungcheol smiles. 

Jihoon blinks. “Right, uh… One second while I get the ingredients.” Jihoon scurries into the back storage room to collect the necessary ingredients for the stain remover potion. Canola oil, crushed snakeskins (of course obtained humanely! Jihoon made sure of it, they only use the shed skins), violet petals, the tiny vile of cat whiskers (which Jihoon found plenty of around his house and on his fluffiest sweaters to supply the shop with), citrus extract, and willow bark. He hurries back out with his arms full, to see Seungcheol browsing among the spell books, flipping through a few pages of one. 

“You think of a spellbook and this certainly isn’t what you’d expect,” Seungcheol laughs, holding up a printed edition of Boo’s Household Spells, and Jihoon laughs. 

“It’s not the 12th century anymore, they aren’t all tattered old antiques anymore,” Jihoon smiles and starts measuring out the ingredients. “You want a regular 12 ounce dose?”

“Yes, please,” Seungcheol smiles. “With the mess I make on my mechanics uniforms, those 12 ounces go quickly.” 

“I can imagine.” 

“So, what’s your favorite thing to do with magic? Like, what do you typically use it for?” Seungcheol asks. Jihoon’s eyes flicker up to meet Seungcheol’s for a few moments and then back down to the snakeskin he’s crushing. 

“Just household stuff. Better than the stuff they sell you- dish detergent, laundry soap, floor polish? None of that stuff is good, it’s all chemicals. And I like to have spells, so I can send the broom and the wet mop on their own and I can read.”

“Not the vacuum?” Seungcheol raises an eyebrow. 

“That’s what I have a Roomba for,” Jihoon laughs. “I like using it for my garden too, since some of the fruits and stuff I bring in for the shop supply. Just protectors from plants and stuff. Occasional luck spells, for the rare date or for a successful meeting with my editor. Not that luck spells are 100 percent effective! Don’t put money on something just because you have a luck spell.”

“Oh?”

“Luck spells are unpredictable. Luck spells don’t necessarily give you luck for what you want- they just give you luck for something. For instance, if you used a luck spell in a job interview, in the hopes that you land the job, the luck spell isn’t guaranteed to work on that. You could win the lottery instead, because of the luck potion. Or if you’re hoping to win a bet with your friends, the luck potion could work and get you a raise at your job instead.”

“That’s… actually really good to know. Guess I won’t buy a luck spell unless I don’t care what I get lucky with,” Seungcheol gives him that smile where his eyes crinkle up in the prettiest way. “What about… love spells? Know anything about them?”

Jihoon pauses in his eye-dropping the perfect ratio of oil into the potion, and looks at Seungcheol. Why is he asking about love potions? He’s clearly got Jeonghan wrapped around his finger, and love magic is a mess; it’s the least easy of all the magics, honestly. 

“I don’t typically mess with love magic, let alone spells or potions. Love potions are temporary, after all the human body does work it’s own digestive magic. Love potions are also not ‘blinding love’ like a movie might make them seen. They’re designed this way for safety purposes. So the person they’re supposed to fall in love with can’t completely control them or make decisions they wouldn’t like. We also have to have consent forms signed before we can sell a love potion… For insurance purposes and whatnot. Typically it’s a prescription from marriage counsellors. They mostly just enhance the endorphins that make love happen. And they sort of ‘remind you’ why you fell in love with that person in the first place.”

“That’s interesting… But spells?”

“Spells are a different ballpark, and not so much my specialty. But, I know there are hundreds of spells under the category ‘love.’ For example, if you’re looking for a moony-eyed, first stages of a relationship sort of feeling, they have spells to make you ‘see someone in a new light’ all over again. Also a risky spell. Then you have conjuring spells, where you can summon up love- usually demons- which don’t think all demons are bad, they’re not, it’s just their species title- that are quite literally to serve the purpose of… of sex,” Jihoon can feel his cheeks heating. “Not like… prostitutes, but they have powers and stuff, and it’s a whole system, it’s actually kind of interesting, in a weird way, because they don’t see sex like we humans do, it’s strange.”

“You’re… wow.” Seungcheol is blinking in amazing. “How do you fit all this information in your head? You’re- really really intelligent.” Seungcheol is smiling. 

“Only at things I’m good at, really. Ask me about magic, cats, literature, or music, and I could go on for hours. Cars, though? Not a clue. Everyone is smart at their own things.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Seungcheol nods. “Cats?” Seungcheol raises an eyebrow. 

“I love cats! I have two at home, a brown and white tabby and a tortoiseshell. They’re both very cuddly. And, I know where a few kittens are, if you’re looking.”

Seungcheol grins. “Maybe. I hadn’t thought about getting a cat. I always saw myself as more of a dog person- nothing against cats. But my building won’t allow dogs, says they’re too loud.”

“That’s too bad. Guess you’ll have to consider a cat!” Jihoon sing songs, as he boils the violet petals to get their extract. Seungcheol laughs. 

“Maybe I will. So what kinds of magic are there? Like specific categories of spells, or something.”

“Well, there’s emotional magic- love spells, mood potions, happiness spells- considered a risky magic, really. There’s also physical magic- appearance changes, transfigurations or shapeshifts, stuff like that. Then there’s helpful or household magic- like your stain remover, or the garden spells, or the cleaning hexes, that you can put on your cleaning equipment. Then there’s spiritual magic, with familiars, and astral projection. There’s healing magic- the cure for the common cold, and certain pain easing spells, but it’s not used for much else, since modern medicine is more accurate and available. They are, however, looking into a potential magical cure to cancer, which is cool. 

“There’s conjuring or summoning magic- summoning up magical creatures or demons, usually their work is contractual, and stuff. And there’s fate magic- like the luck potions, or what fortune tellers usually use. Crystal ball sort of thing. There’s also dark magic, which is widely unavailable to the world, and protected by magic sanctions and high class mages, wizards and witches, and to use any of it, you need to talk to the counsel of magic users, and you get a trial and a proposition period, it’s a mess. I think that covers most of the bases, anyways.” Jihoon states, and Seungcheol nods. 

“I’m guessing you’re more into the helpful magic, then?”

“I dabble in some emotional magic and spiritual magic on my free time. I’ve tried a summoning spell once or twice- I called up an army of gnomes to guard my house while I was on vacation last summer,” Jihoon says with a smile. “Gnomes are fun, and they helped maintain my garden while I was away, very nice creatures, not little devils like the movies make them out to be.”

“That’s so cool!” Seungcheol smiles, and oh my god, those are dimples. How has Jihoon never noticed them before? 

“Enough about magic, tell me some stuff you like,” Jihoon says, pouring the oil into the boiling petal water. 

“Actually, I’m really into art,” Seungcheol states. “I paint murals for the town, and I run a few art classes at the town’s rec center during the weeknights.”

“Really? That’s so cool, Seungcheol! I am terrible at art,” Jihoon laughs. “My art teacher only passed me in high school because she didn’t want to see my terrible artwork again.”

“That’s hilarious. You can always come down to one of the sip and paints on Saturday nights. Drunk middle aged neighborhood aunties don’t make great artists, but they’re funny.”

“I can imagine.” Jihoon smiles. Seungcheol is sweet, and he’s talented, and Jihoon knows he’s whipped. What doesn’t this man do?

“Hey how much longer do you think this potion will take? My brother is dropping my baby nephew off at the shop, I’m watching him for the weekend while they have ‘grown up time,’ and I have to be there at three to get him. And I doubt a two year old is a good idea to have running around a magic shop, not that he’s too much trouble.”

Jihoon’s heart flutters. Great, so now Seungcheol is good with kids, and Jihoon can feel his heart turning to mush at the thought of Seungcheol holding a small toddler’s hand as they walk down the street or blowing raspberries on their tummies when they’re sad, just to make them laugh, or sleeping on the couch with the little baby on his chest… Jihoon is in love with Seungcheol, and he’s known him for literally three days, and they’ve only been talking for an hour. 

“It’ll be done around 2:30, the actual mixing won’t be too much longer, it’s just a matter of letting it cure.” Jihoon smiles, but his heart sinks when he realizes that Seungcheol would be leaving soon. “I’m sure you don’t want to spend much time with me anyways, I’m probably boring you with stories anyways, I’m sorry.” Jihoon gives him an apologetic smile, and Seungcheol shakes his head. 

“No, I really don’t mind! You’re really nice to be around, Jihoon. I just really need to keep an eye on the time, is all,” Seungcheol smiles. Jihoon can feel his cheeks heating up at Seungcheol’s compliment (? at least Jihoon thinks it was a compliment).

“Maybe I’ll stop in so you can meet him! He’s adorable, his name is Seungjin, here! I have a picture of him!” Seungcheol pulls out his wallet and flips it open to a little photo spot. Who even has those anymore?! This is fucking adorable! (So is the toddler in overalls that’s grinning at the camera with fat cheeks and dimples like Seungcheol and scrunchy eyes, with a little red cap backwards on his head).

“He’s adorable!” Jihoon coos. 

“Isn’t he? He started talking recently, just typical ‘mama and dada’ and stuff, and his favorite word is cookie,” Seungcheol laughs. “Here, let me show you this video!” Seungcheol is pulling out his phone now, and scrolling through his camera roll, showing the cutest photos and videos of his nephew to Jihoon. Jihoon has to pause him in his showing off of Seungjin to take a few customers, but Jihoon could probably listen to this all day. Seungcheol shows him a video of him picking Seungjin up and spinning him in circles, and ones of him playing tag with the toddler, and teaching him about cars and trucks. 

Jihoon is in love, he really truly is. 

The overhead bell to the door chimes, and Jihoon looks up to see Jeonghan.

“Oh, Hannie! You’re here… I thought you had today off?” Jihoon can feel his heart fall at the sight of his friend, as he raises an eye at Seungcheol.

“I do, but I left my potions here, I was going to get some cleaning done. Hello, Seungcheol. What brings you to the shop?” Jeonghan smiles at Seungcheol warmly. 

“Oh, I just wanted to tell Jihoon here what was going on with the bike. I finally figured out what’s wrong with the engine, and it’ll be 3-4 more days before it’s fixed, it’s a tricky problem. And I came in for my stain remover potion,” Seungcheol explains, a flush rising to his cheeks. 

“Well you know you don’t have to sit around and wait for it to cure, Cheollie.” Jeonghan pats his shoulder and slips behind the counter and into the back room to gather the potions he had made yesterday. 

“I know, but I got to chatting with Jihoon. I don’t mind, I don’t have anywhere to be until 3 anyways.” Seungcheol says. 

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s always good to see you, Seungcheol.” Jeonghan winks at Seungcheol, whose face gets even more pink. Jihoon almost scoffs at that, and he swears he’s not green with envy. Jeonghan is always a wake up call for Jihoon, even if he doesn’t mean to be. 

Seungcheol is just being friendly, and Jihoon has no shot in hell with Seungcheol. He turns away to check Seungcheol’s potion and attend to a new customer in she shop, while Jeonghan and Seungcheol chat for a few minutes more.

“I’m heading back out, see you on Monday, Jihoonie! Ta-ta!” Jeonghan throws that dazzling smile of his over his shoulder and a wave, and struts out of the shop. Jihoon just waves half heartedly after him, and sighs. 

“What’s wrong, Jihoon? You look gloomy all of a sudden.” Seungcheol’s brows are furrowed in concern.

“What?”

“You’re not smiling…” Seungcheol says very quietly. 

“Oh… Well, it’s nothing, I just remembered I forgot something, is all.” Jihoon plasters a smile back on his face, and chats with Seungcheol for a bit longer, before Seungcheol’s stain remover is cured fully, and Jihoon is bottling it and sending it off with Seungcheol with a wave. 

Sure enough, Seungcheol makes sure to walk past the shop a little later, with little Seungjin in his arms, pointing into the shop and waving. Jihoon smiles and gives a little wave back, and Seungjin giggles and waves. Too precious. 

Jeonghan, of course, sends Jihoon to check on the bike the following Wednesday, and Jihoon decides to bring some of his cookies along- as thanks for repairing the bike on short notice, and for hanging around the shop with him the previous Saturday. He must have impeccable timing, because just as he’s exiting the shop with a small tray of the cookies, he’s about running into Seungcheol, who apologizes instantly.

“Oh! Seungcheol! I’m so sorry! I was just coming to check in on the bike, I didn’t mean to run into you!” Jihoon frantically explains.

“No, I should have been more cautious about the door! Oh, are those cookies?” Seungcheol notices the tray in Jihoon’s hands, and Jihoon finds himself looking down at them as well. 

“Yes, they are, actually they’re for you! As a thank you for fixing the shop’s bike, which I was just on my way to do,” Jihoon smiles and holds them out. “What brings you to the shop?”

“Actually, I came to tell you and Jeonghan that the uh, bike, the fuel line it needs, still isn’t in. It was supposed to arrive today, I’m not one hundred percent sure what went on, but the package has been delayed,” Seungcheol states, fidgeting nervously. 

“That’s alright, welcome back to the shop, by the way,” Jeonghan purrs from behind Jihoon, making Jihoon jump a little, startled. 

“Ah, yes. Thank you, and I’m sorry again about the bike, unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about it until the part comes in, don’t worry I won’t charge you for this, since it’s not being worked on,” Seungcheol smiles. Jeonghan laughs.

“Well thank you, handsome man. Lets just hope the part gets here soon,” Jeonghan winks. “Or maybe later, would be good, if it means you’ll keep coming around.”

Seungcheol’s face flushes, and Jihoon clears his throat. 

“Here! Your cookies! I’d better get to mixing potions!” Jihoon chirps, shoving the cookie tray into Seungcheol’s hands and scurrying off, leaving a bewildered, pink-cheeked Seungcheol behind. Jihoon throws himself into the back room, letting out a huge breath, setting his head in his hands. 

“Hoonie, what’s going on?” Seokmin chuckles, peeking out from behind a shelf and startling Jihoon.

“Seokmin! You’re here!”

“Yep! How’s it going?!” Seokmin grins that grin of his and Jihoon feels all of his worries melt away, Seokmin just had something about him that made people’s anxieties melt away, he truly was just a happy person. 

“Not so good… Jeonghan is flirting with the cute mechanic that I may or may not have a stupid fat crush on,” Jihoon pouts, and makes sure he whispers the last part, because Jihoon knows all too well how easily conversations carry from the back room to the front counter and into the shop. 

“What? Let me see him!” Seokmin says and hurries to the door and peeks around the doorway.

“Seokmin, seriously?!” Jihoon tugs on his arm, and Seokmin turns to him, his face looking grave. 

“Oh,” he says softly. “ _ Oh. _ ” Seokmin’s tone is grave now as he turns to face Jihoon. “He  _ is _ hot, Hoonie.”

“And the worst thing is? He likes kids, he has this nephew and he spent a whole two hours sitting in the shop and telling me about him! What am I gonna do, Seokmin!?”

“You’re hopeless- Oh! Hannie! Hi!” Seokmin’s face breaks back into his sunshine smile as Jeonghan walks into the back room. 

“Seokmin, you’re back!” Jeonghan hugs him and then seems to think better of it. “You’re not contagious, right?”

“Jeonghan, I wouldn’t be here if I was still sick  _ or  _ contagious, especially not since I had the flu.” Seokmin pouts. “But I’m back now! I can do deliveries and stuff again!” Seokmin sings a little, and Jihoon swears the whole shop gets brighter.

“Unfortunately we don’t have the bike back yet, and Seungcheol doesn’t know when the part he needs will come in. So you’ll have to do them in your car, I’ll give you the company card to fill the tank with. Anyways, Jihoon, you get back to work, there were customers out there.” Jeonghan shoos Jihoon back out to mix more potions and conjure up some more spells, and to sell potion ingredients and spell books and crystals. 

Jihoon stares at his reflection in the mirror of his bathroom, spellbook in hand. “Jeonghan…” Jihoon murmurs as he leafs through the pages. “What does Jeonghan have that I don’t…?” Jihoon huffs, and then a lightbulb goes off in the dark clueless area in his brain. 

Jeonghan is bleach blonde, and his hair is long and thick. 

Jihoon is terrified of bleach, and he hates when his hair gets in his eyes.

Jihoon leafs through the spell book and sees an appearance spell- will last 48 hours, and will change the one thing you want with no damage, temporarily. Sort of an illusion of what you want, rather than having a physical altercation on your being. Jihoon studies the page for a second, before announcing the spell out loud to his reflection in the mirror. He chants it three times, as said, and then presses both of his sparkling hands to his head, running them through his hair. He can feel a warmth over his head, and a tingling in his scalp, before he looks back up into the mirror. 

Jihoon blinks at the disastrous hay yellow strands on his head with horror. “No, no, no, no, no!” Jihoon cries, his hands no longer sparkling, as he claws at his hair. He then looks back to the spell book, and starts searching for an undo spell. 

No such luck. 

Jihoon flips back to the spell and repeats the phrase, carding his shimmery hands back through his hair again, desire for his old hair making the energy from his hands pulse. The tingling is back, and the warmth is more uncomfortable this time, and then it fades, and Jihoon is looking up at- an even worse case. 

Now it’s a weird in between shade, a somehow blonde over a reddy-brown, like someone tried to bleach over a bad dye job and neither went well. Jihoon about cries on the bathroom floor that night, and decides he’ll have to settle on a beanie for the next two days of work. 

Jeonghan sends him to check on Seungcheol on Friday, once Mingyu had arrived with the new supplies. Jeonghan and Jisoo had laughed at Jihoon’s mistake, (though Jihoon had just used the excuse that he wanted to try going blonde to see if he’d like it without the damage) but Seokmin had given him a pout and apologized. 

Jihoon tugs the beanie down over his ears and trudges out of the shop, looking ridiculous in a t-shirt, jeans, and winter hat in the hot summer weather. He walks down the street, and Seungcheol comes out to greet him. 

“You know it’s not supposed to rain until later in the day, right?” Seungcheol asks. Jihoon blinks. 

“What?”

“It’s supposed to rain later, but you look as if you’ve got your own personal rain cloud hovering above your head. What’s wrong?” Seungcheol’s smile is fading and his brows are furrowing in concern. 

“It’s nothing… Hey, what’s up with the bike?” Jihoon asks softly. 

“Oh, uh, the part isn’t in yet, still, and I’m starting to think I might as well just buy another one instead. Your bike is an American model, so the parts in it are foreign. Sometimes with uh, customs and stuff, between countries, things get stopped and stuck there, and that could mean months before the part comes…” Seungcheol’s eyes flicker away from Jihoon and his hands flutter around nervously. “No charge to you, of course, don’t worry! I plan to order the new part tonight. Why are you wearing a beanie? It’s about a hundred degrees today.”

“Badhairday!” Jihoon says too quickly, because Seungcheol’s already reaching out to tug at it, and Jihoon puts his hands over it and ducks, as if it’s going to do anything. 

“It can’t be that bad…” Seungcheol says, pulling the beanie off of Jihoon’s head and out from under the grasp of his hands. “Oh, Jihoonie…” Seungcheol tuts a bit, pouting while he looks at Jihoon’s disaster hair. 

Jihoon snatches the beanie back and tugs it back over his head. “You saw nothing.”

“What happened to it?”

“I tried a spell, since I wanted bleached hair like Jeonghan’s, but without the damage. It didn’t work, and there were no reversal spells, so I had to try and cover the spell up with the same one again, but with my natural hair color. It went wrong. Again.” Jihoon mumbles. 

“How long is it like that for?” Seungcheol reaches back up and tucks a strand of loose hair up under Jihoon’s beanie, and Jihoon’s heart races and butterflies flutter around in his stomach, because it’s a gesture that’s so small but indescribably  _ soft _ . And it shows he  _ cares _ , since he knows Jihoon is obviously embarrassed by his disaster hair, so he tucked the hair in that Jihoon had missed-

Jihoon is reading too far into this. He’s probably tucking it away because it’s distracting and annoying and- 

Just like Jihoon is being right now…

“Just until tomorrow night! I’ll let you go! You’ve probably got important work to do! Bye Seungcheol!” Jihoon turns to run off but Seungcheol is shouting wait after him, and grabbing his wrist after a couple of steps, and spinning him back to face him. 

“I uh…” Seungcheol stammers, seemingly unable to form words. “Your cookie tray! I uh, I’ve been meaning to give it back to you. The cookies were delicious, you’re an amazing baker.” Seungcheol smiles and gestures for Jihoon to follow him into the shop. Jihoon trails after him, feeling guilty for wasting more of Seungcheol’s time. 

“Uh, thanks…” Jihoon’s voice is quiet. “I’m sorry for wasting so much of your time, I’m sure you’re busy.”

“You? Wasting my time? Never, Jihoon. I love having you around! You’re really smart and- and you’re really cute, actually…” Seungcheol’s voice is bright, but a bit unsure at the end. Jihoon’s face contorts into a scowl. 

_ Cute?! CUTE?! _

“Oh, piss off!” Jihoon can’t help it. If there’s one thing he hates, its being called cute. He’s short, yeah, but that doesn’t inherently mean that he’s cute. In fact, it rather offends him. 

Seungcheol looks shocked. “I- I didn’t mean to upset you, you just-”

“You think just because I’m small means I’m cute?! I’ll show you cute!” Jihoon stops dead in his fury when he notices the panic in Seungcheol’s eyes. 

“No! That’s not what I meant! I mean- you’re absolutely right, just because you’re short doesn’t make you cute, yeah, but I- I just meant you’ve got this happy aura around you- and you always have stars in your eyes! And you’ve got dimples to die for!”

Jihoon blinks, suddenly feeling foolish. “I- oh. Oh, no…” Jihoon shakes his head, embarrassment further bubbling in his veins. 

“I didn’t mean to offend you, I really didn’t, Jihoon…” Seungcheol is staring at Jihoon with wide, apologetic, sad, puppy eyes, and Jihoon’s body is telling him to flee. 

“I have to go, I’m so sorry, Seungcheol!”

And with that, Jihoon runs, all the way back to the shop, panic in his heart. 

Of course he tells Seokmin everything. 

“Jihoon, he called you  _ cute _ , and went into detail about why he thinks you’re cute. This sounds like he is into  _ you _ , and not Jeonghan,” Seokmin stares at him seriously, as they sit cross legged on the floor behind the counter, since Fridays are slow. 

“No, you’ve said the same thing before, Seokmin. You say I’m my own little ray of sunshine or whatever, and that it was cute.” Jihoon pouts. “Either way, he’d pick Jeonghan over me any day. He doesn’t have to bend over to kiss Jeonghan. And Jeonghan can be cute but he’s also pretty  _ all _ the time,  _ and _ he knows how to be sexy.”

“Jihoon, don’t pretend you don’t know how to be sexy, Jihoon. When you’re drunk you’re a wild time.  _ And _ you’re not a virgin, so you did something right at some point.” 

Jihoon glares at Seokmin. “Not helping, Seokmin. I just- it’s Friday, I’m ready to go home. I’ll never amount to Jeonghan anyways, so there’s no use in worrying over it.”

“What about me?” Jeonghan shuffles behind the counter from wherever he was before.

“Nothing-”

“Jihoon likes Seungcheol, and he thinks Seungcheol likes you.” Seokmin blurts. Jihoon kicks him. 

“Asshole!” Jihoon glares at his supposed ‘best friend’ and Seokmin pouts and rubs his shin.

“You like Seungcheol? Like the hot mechanic Seungcheol?” Jeonghan’s eyebrows are raised and his eyes are wide. 

“Yes, okay? He’s not just hot, and- and I don’t just want a hookup like you do.” Jihoon spits rather harshly. 

“Wow, okay. Ouch. Call me out on my habits, why don’t you.”

“Sorry Hannie, I’m just stressed out.” Jihoon says softly. Jeonghan just ruffles his hair and pulls him in for a hug. 

“It’s okay. Boys can be that way. And if Seungcheol doesn’t see what you’re worth then he’s not worth your time. Okay?” Jeonghan hugs him tight. “Why don’t you take off early? You walked this morning, didn’t you? It’s supposed to storm, you’d better get going now so you can avoid it?”

Jihoon agrees, and heads out, deciding to stop at the grocery store to pick up dinner (and maybe one of those pre-made chocolate pies from the bakery, the ones for one person, because Jihoon wants junk food) and a can of cat food for the little kittens in the alley behind the grocery store. He pays and starts for the back alley behind the store, peeling back the lid of the can as the little kittens run over to greet him. Thunder rumbles nearby, and Jihoon glances worriedly at the excited kittens. 

Jihoon empties the contents of the can onto the lid of his lunch container, so they didn’t cut themselves on the sharp edge of the can, and watch as they eat up quickly and happily. Jihoon stays and plays with them when they’ve finished off the can, and he sticks the lid back in his work back, and scratches one of them behind the ear. Two of them romp in the little clearing of the alley. The fourth one is sniffing Jihoon’s grocery bag for more food. 

The first rain drops hit Jihoon’s nose, and his left cheek, making Jihoon blink. The kittens leave him, huddling under the edge of a dumpster, looking scared as thunder rumbles. Jihoon’s face contorts into a frown. He just wants to get the kittens somewhere safe and dry. He sighs and turns to leave the alley only to see a car come to a screeching halt and pull over on the side of the road. Jihoon blinks, a bit worried, since now the rain is coming down a bit harder, and someone is  _ getting out of the car. _

“Jihoon! Is that you?”

It’s Seungcheol, of course. 

“Yeah, what are you-”

“I thought it was you! It’s about to pour. What were you doing in that alley? Do you want a ride home?”

“I- well…” Jihoon’s mind trails back to the kittens in the alley. “Can I show you something?”

Seungcheol’s brows furrow, and he turns on the hazard lights of his car, and jogs over to Jihoon. Jihoon walks back into the alley and crouches down, and one of the kittens pokes its head out to meow, until a fat water droplet lands perfectly on his head and he jumps a mile and retreats back under the dumpster. 

“Oh!” Seungcheol’s voice is soft, and he’s crouching down as well, peeking down at the kittens. 

“I’ve been coming by to feed them for weeks! I need to get them out of this storm, I’m worried for them…” Jihoon says. 

Seungcheol runs back to his car as a clap of thunder shakes the sky. The kittens huddle up under the dumpster, eyes wide with terror. Jihoon follows after Seungcheol, brows furrowed. He’s rummaging through his back seat, and he pulls out an empty box. A picture on the side says it’s from some parts shipment.

“Let’s put the kittens in this. They can stay at my place for the weekend, until we can figure out something to do with them.” Seungcheol hurries back to the alley, and Jihoon pulls out a piece of cheese from his grocery bag, and holds it out. 

“I don’t think they’ll want to come out with the rain like this,” Jihoon has to shout over the pouring of the rain, and the wind. Seungcheol nods and gets the box closer, and Jihoon lays on the ground and grabs a kitten out, quickly putting it in the box. He meows angrily, and Seungcheol throws his jacket over the top to keep it dry. Jihoon reaches blindly for another kitten and just brushes one, before they all dart out from under and duck behind some old crates. Seungcheol gives Jihoon the box and slips behind the crate, managing to scoop up two just as another round of thunder rips through the sky.

Seungcheol gets them into the box with the first kitten. Jihoon peers into the box, and sees the gray striped kitten, the gold and black tiger kitty, and the plain black one. That leaves the calico kitty, the smallest of the four of them. Jihoon gives Seungcheol the box. There sits the smallest kitten, in the pouring rain, mewling helplessly. Jihoon scoops her up into his arms, and sets her in the box. 

“Lets get in the car, quick!” Seungcheol hurries to the car, his hair plastered to his forehead and his shirt sticking to his torso. Jihoon can’t help but stare at the muscles flexing under his shirt, the strong lines of his shoulders, and the broadness of his chest.  _ Fuck _ , Seungcheol is probably the sexiest man Jihoon had ever met, and the saddest part was that Seungcheol’s not even trying. Jihoon climbs into the passenger’s seat, and buckles up. He glances in the back seat and looks at the kittens, and then he notices the box in the back seat of the car, the one with the name of the part for the bike on it. 

Jihoon’s brows furrow and he turns to look at Seungcheol. Seungcheol seems to get what Jihoon was looking at, because his cheeks turn pink. “It’s not what it looks like, it came in as we were closing today. I’m going to install it Monday.” Seungcheol states. Jihoon nods. 

“I see,” Jihoon nods. One of the kittens meows from the box in the back seat as they take off. “So about the kittens…”

“I can take them for the weekend, at least,” Seungcheol offers. 

“Are you sure? I know someone who might be willing to take two of them.” Jihoon says. 

“It’s fine. I just have to get stuff for them.” Seungcheol says. 

“If we stop at my house I can give you some food for them, and I think I have a spare litter box from when I fostered cats.” 

“That would be great.” Seungcheol smiles. “Let’s get going shall we?”

They stop at Seungcheol’s house to drop the kittens off, at least, and Jihoon can’t help but stare at Seungcheol’s figure under his soaked shirt. It is  _ unfair. _ Before Jihoon stands the most god-like man he’d ever seen, and that man liked Jeonghan, and Jihoon couldn’t do anything about it, unless he grew another five inches, had longer hair (that wasn’t terribly gross blonde) and a face like an angel. Seungcheol ignores his wet clothes for a few minutes to sit on the floor and coax the kittens out of the box. Once they come out, Seungcheol pets them, and plays with them. 

Jihoon can feel himself shivering, his wet clothes soaking him to the bone. Seungcheol seems to notice his trembling, because he looks up at him with concern. 

“Oh! You must be freezing! Hang on, I’ll get you something dry to wear. It might be a bit big, but it’ll be warm at least.”

“No, you don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be okay!” Jihoon wills every muscle in his face to stop his teeth from chattering, but is unsuccessful. 

“Nonsense! You’ll catch a cold that way!” Seungcheol grabs his hand and tugs him down the hall and to his bedroom, heading to his dresser and rummaging through it, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and handing them to Jihoon. “The bathroom is across the hall, or you can get dressed in here.” Seungcheol grabs his own pair of clothes and waits for Jihoon to move or decide something. 

“I’ll just go into the bathroom,” Jihoon scurries out and into the room across the hall, shutting the door and changing quickly. He emerges to see Seungcheol hasn’t closed the door of his room, and he’s standing there in sweatpants and turning his shirt right side out. Jihoon does his best not to stare, and restrains himself from letting out any involuntary sounds. Instead, he turns and marches towards the kitchen silently, reminding himself that he has no shot in hell with Seungcheol in the first place. He holds his wet clothes, unsure of what to do with them, until Seungcheol steps through the doorway, and grabs the clothes from him. 

“I’ll put these in the dryer for you,” Seungcheol smiles and disappears through a little door off the kitchen, presumably the laundry room. Jihoon crouches down to scratch one of the kittens behind the ear. 

Jihoon is on his couch, eating his dessert, crying over some ridiculous rom-com that he found on Netflix, and swiping unsuccessfully through Tinder and wallowing in self pity. The perfect man is right under his nose but so far out of reach, and Jihoon isn’t worthy. He cries because he doesn’t like how he looks, because he’s perpetually single, because he’s weird, because he’s not smart or talented, because he’s  _ lonely. _

Jihoon puts on something stupid, something that’s less romantic and more comedy, but not until he’s gone through at least half a box of tissues, and is sick of crying. He takes the last bite of whatever premade confection he bought from the store yesterday, and then stands, going over to his bookshelf and tugging a spellbook from it’s confines. He opens to the ‘love spells’ portion of it.

Love potion? No.

Eyes-for-you spell? Could work on Seungcheol, but it would have to be consensual and contractual. Nevermind. 

Summon a sex demon _ ? _ No, Jihoon isn’t looking for sex- well, sex would be great at some point, but mostly he wants someone to snuggle up on the couch with and get smooches from, someone to cook him breakfast in the morning, and maybe lazy morning sex would be fun, but it’s not on Jihoon’s priority list.

“One True Love spell,” Jihoon reads aloud. “Conjure up the man of your dreams, your one true love, the one you belong with.” Jihoon reads the ingredients, and shrugs. Probably one of those illusion sort of spells, that create a figment of your imagination, or some sort of shapeshifter demon that will conform to Jihoon’s imagination. Jihoon shrugs, seeing that the contract isn’t a part of the page in the book, and assumes that if it’s a demon, it will have it’s own contract to bring along. 

So he goes to the kitchen and starts bringing up the ingredients he needs, measuring out and lighting the necessary candles, and reading over the incantations in the spellbook in his head, making notes. He grabs the chalk and starts tracing out the necessary runes and symbols for the spell.

When the potion is done, he sets up the candles in the proper form, aligns the necessary crystals, and peppers the freshly made potion around the circle while he recites the spell, remembering proper pronunciations, inflection, and emotions. 

Nothing happens. 

Until something does, a puff of pink smoke, and an unnecessary amount of fucking  _ glitter, oh fuck no _ \- and suddenly Seungcheol is there, coughing, and waving the smoke out of his face. He’s got a hoodie on, and skinny jeans, and Jihoon stares in horror. 

What the  _ fuck is this!? _

“Jihoon? What- how did I get in your house?” Seungcheol swats the last few tendrils of pink fog from his face.

“Seungcheol?!” Jihoon reaches out and grabs his arm, but he’s solid- not a figment, not an illusion. 

“Yes, who else would I be?” Seungcheol looks confused. 

“A demon? Where’s the contract, shapeshifter? Since you’re- taking on the form of Seungcheol, and I don’t know your name.” Jihoon hates calling creatures of the underworld what they are, so a pang of guilt resounds through Jihoon at his language. 

“I’m not a demon, what the hell, Jihoon! What am I doing here?!”

Jihoon’s mouth was apparently comprehending all of the events that were happening, but his brain wasn’t, and suddenly all of it catches up with him, and the horror hits him. 

One true love spell. Man of Jihoon’s dreams. 

He had unintentionally summoned  _ Seungcheol. _

“I- oh my god. This- You can go, I just- apparently this fucking summoning spell didn’t work right, I must have messed something up, I- I’ll be back, make yourself at home!” Jihoon kicks himself at that. He had just told Seungcheol he could leave, and now he was telling him to kick back, and make himself at home? What was  _ wrong _ with Jihoon?! Jihoon scrambles back to the kitchen to grab his phone. He dials Jeonghan’s number.

“Yes, Hoonie?”

“Boo’s Love Spells. One True Love spell. Page 156.”

“Jihoon, don’t tell me you’re drunk!” Jeonghan groans. 

“No, I’m not. I just- I cried a lot, and then accidentally summoned Choi Seungcheol into my home.”

Silence rings over the phone line, and then Jeonghan breaks out into laughter. 

“You used the One True Love spell?!” Jeonghan laughs. “What did you think would happen?! Of course the guy you’re in love with would show up!”

“Jeonghan, stop laughing! I thought this would be a- an illusion spell, a shapeshifter demon, or something! Not a ‘summon your crush into the middle of your living room that’s set up for a cult session!” Jeonghan laughs harder on the other end. 

“Crush? Jihoon, you  _ like me? _ ” Seungcheol is standing in the doorway and Jihoon is about ready to sink through the floorboards in a hot puddle of embarrassment. 

“A One True Love spell is meant to bring you the one that you love, the one that loves you. An untested bond, someone that will probably be around for the rest of your life. If this isn’t a sign, Jihoon, that you need to speak up for yourself and take chances in love, and pursue the romantic interests you have, then I don’t know what is. Seungcheol is a great guy, you know-

“Jihoon?” Seungcheol is standing before him now, and Jihoon hadn’t realized that he was crying again. Something overwhelming is happening to him, and his body seems to think that crying is the best and only option. 

Jihoon hangs up, and Seungcheol hugs him, rubbing his back. 

Jihoon takes comfort in this gesture, and eventually calms.

“So you like me…?” Seungcheol asks quietly. 

“Seungcheol, I’m sorry, this is probably so- so bothersome to you, I’m so sorry,” Jihoon shakes his head and stares at the hands in his lap. 

“What? Why would you think your feelings were a bother to me?”

Jihoon flinches. “You like  _ Jeonghan, _ Seungcheol, and I’m not Jeonghan. Not even close.”

Seungcheol laughs at that, and immediately apologizes for it. “Jihoon, I do  _ not _ like Jeonghan.”

“Then why do you get all blushy when he compliments you, or get all awkward when he flirts with you?”

“Because I’m awkward and don’t know how to reject Jeonghan’s. Jihoon, I  _ like you. _ Not Jeonghan, not even a little bit. I pretended that bike part wasn’t in for the last two weeks just because I wanted to have a reason for you to come around, so I could see you more. I was going to ask you out to dinner yesterday, but I chickened out, and that’s when the cookie tray thing happened…”

“I’m sorry I’m an absolute idiot…” Jihoon groans and runs a hand through his hair, even more embarrassed now.

“Well, you’re a little oblivious, but not an idiot. But if you were an idiot, at least you’re a hot idiot, even with your terrible magic hair. So how did I get in your living room, anyways?”

Jihoon laughs, and Seungcheol kisses his forehead. Jihoon could maybe get used to this. 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on Twitter if you wanna, I make dumb jokes and scream about kpop @youknow_yunho
> 
> hopefully you like this one, I thought it was cute


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